Chapter Summaries

Li Zhi, a reborn former soldier, flew to Yuzhou for the next stage of air force pilot selection when his plane was taken over by armed hijackers. He discovered the captives and criminals in business class, and the chapter ended as a flight attendant spotted him and cried for help.

• Li Zhi recalled his past life as a soldier and his efforts to qualify for air force pilot selection.
• The plane made sharp turns, and passengers grew angry when the crew offered no explanation.
• Li Zhi heard gunshots and suspected the plane had been hijacked, so he hurried toward the front.
• Li Zhi overheard hijackers threatening a captive and saw that criminals had restrained the flight attendants and held at least one gun.
• A flight attendant saw Li Zhi peeking past the curtain and began struggling and calling for help.

Li Zhi hid from the hijackers, strangled Qiangzi, and then attacked the remaining hijackers as they retreated toward the cockpit. The leader was knocked unconscious, while the other two froze in front of Li Zhi.

• Li Zhi hid in a lavatory while Qiangzi searched the plane, then ambushed him and strangled him to death.
• Li Zhi waited outside business class as the hijackers realized Qiangzi had not returned.
• The leader and two remaining hijackers tried to retreat into the cockpit, but Li Zhi confronted them.
• The leader shot at Li Zhi, who dodged and threw a steel pipe that knocked the leader unconscious.
• The two other hijackers froze as Li Zhi rushed toward them.

Li Zhi defeated the attackers on the plane, but the last one killed the captain and copilot before taking his own life. With no one else able to fly the airliner and no knowledge of how to operate it, Li Zhi was left despondent as the flight attendants mistook him for an air marshal.

• Li Zhi quickly defeated the two remaining attackers in business class and spotted another gunman in the cockpit.
• Li Zhi entered the cockpit using an unconscious attacker as a shield, but the gunman killed the captain and then himself.
• Li Zhi checked the copilot and found him dead as well.
• Li Zhi sat in the captain's seat and realized he knew too little about flying a commercial airliner to operate it safely.
• A flight attendant asked whether Li Zhi was the air marshal, while the surviving flight attendants gathered at the cockpit and celebrated their survival.

After hijackers seized CM696 and sent it toward central Yuzhou, Lei Hu received orders to have military fighters shoot it down. Li Zhi contacted the ground to report that the hijackers had been subdued and the pilots were dead, but Lei Hu gave him only twenty seconds to change the plane’s course.

• Ground control repeatedly called CM696 while officials and military personnel gathered at Yuzhou Airport.
• Lei Hu received orders to have the escorting fighters shoot down the airliner, then gave CM696 a final warning over the civil aviation channel.
• Li Zhi answered and said he was a passenger, the hijackers had been subdued, and both pilots were dead.
• Lei Hu demanded that Li Zhi change the plane’s heading within twenty seconds, leaving Li Zhi scrambling to recall how to steer it.

After seeing that Li Zhi was a flight academy applicant, Lei Hu hoped he might be able to help, but Li Zhi's oversteep turn sent the airliner plunging toward the ground. Lei Hu brought experienced captain Wu Lei in to guide Li Zhi remotely as the plane continued to descend.

• Lei Hu read Li Zhi's sparse file and learned that Li Zhi had reached the second round of flight academy pilot recruitment.
• Li Zhi banked the airliner more than 70 degrees during a turn, and the plane began spiraling downward as warning alarms sounded.
• Lei Hu saw the airliner's abnormal flight data and asked Director Tian for an experienced captain familiar with its model.
• Director Tian brought Captain Wu Lei, who had more than 8,000 flight hours, to take over communications with Li Zhi.
• Wu Lei asked Li Zhi to describe the plane's condition, then told him to move the control stick slowly in the opposite direction to correct the bank.

Li Zhi pulled the airliner out of its dive and began climbing as it reached the main urban area, sparing Lei Hu from ordering it shot down. With the plane temporarily stable, Wu Lei began checking Li Zhi’s knowledge of its instruments and flight parameters.

• Li Zhi pulled hard on the control stick and brought the descending airliner into a steep climb.
• Lei Hu saw the plane climbing at the edge of the main urban area and no longer had to consider ordering it shot down.
• Wu Lei told Li Zhi to leave the controls alone and began explaining the aircraft’s instruments.
• Li Zhi interrupted Wu Lei, saying he already knew the instruments, and reported the plane’s altitude, heading, and speed correctly.

Li Zhi guided CM696 toward Yuzhou Airport for a landing, with Wu Lei coaching him and ground crews anxiously watching. Just as the plane neared touchdown, a force-four crosswind struck from the left and made it shake.

• Wu Lei taught Li Zhi the landing controls while the fighters escorted CM696 safely over Yuzhou City.
• Li Zhi lined the plane up with Yuzhou Airport and began descending toward the cleared runway.
• Airport crews prepared a sandbag wall at the runway’s far end to stop the plane if it could not slow down in time.
• The Jiaolong 10 fighters left the airliner to circle above the airport as Li Zhi continued the approach alone.
• Li Zhi lowered the landing gear, set the autobrake, and reduced speed under Wu Lei’s guidance.
• A force-four crosswind hit CM696 from the left near touchdown, causing the plane to shake.

Li Zhi survived the hijacking, passed the flying college’s secret political screening, and received his admission notice. He arrived at the college, met his three roommates, and began building friendships as he prepared for military-style training.

• Li Zhi brought the damaged plane to a stop, and the passengers evacuated while security officers escorted him for questioning.
• Lei Hu intervened so Li Zhi could attend the flying college’s reexamination despite concerns about his role in the hijacking.
• Li Zhi returned home and continued exercising and studying while staff secretly checked his family background.
• A screening officer learned about Li Zhi’s experience flying CM696, consulted his parents, and reported his qualifications to the college.
• Li Zhi received his admission notice, left home for the college, and met Wang Chen, Liu Zhixin, and Lin Dong in his dormitory.
• Wang Chen took Li Zhi and their roommates out for a meal, where the four began to bond.

Li Zhi excelled in flight academy and received special permission to begin simulator training in his second year. His first simulator session began before a crowd of teachers and senior cadets, and he completed the aircraft’s self-check.

• Li Zhi studied harder and mastered flight theory faster than his classmates, impressing his instructors.
• The academy granted Li Zhi special permission to use a simulator in his second year.
• Teachers and fourth-year students gathered to watch Li Zhi’s first simulator session.
• Li Zhi powered up the simulator and waited through the full self-check procedure.
• The self-check finished, leaving Li Zhi ready to take off.

Li Zhi crashed during his first L-8 simulator takeoff after accelerating too slowly, then successfully took off on his second attempt. He completed a smooth landing, astonishing the trainees and teachers watching outside.

• Li Zhi taxied onto the runway and received clearance to take off in windless conditions.
• Li Zhi's cautious acceleration left the plane below takeoff speed, and it ran off the runway into a fence.
• A doctor and psychologist assessed Li Zhi before he began a second simulation.
• Li Zhi accelerated rapidly, controlled the plane as it veered left, and took off with four hundred meters of runway remaining.
• Li Zhi reduced speed, landed smoothly, and stopped the plane on the runway, completing the simulation.

Li Zhi advanced from simulator training to real aircraft instruction after becoming known at the academy for teaching himself to fly. In his graduating year, ace pilot Liu Jin chose him to be the first cadet to fly with him in an L-8 advanced trainer.

• Li Zhi completed his simulator attempts, impressing the other cadets by quickly learning to take off and land without an instructor.
• After more than two years of study, Li Zhi and his classmates entered specialized flight classes, and he joined the fighter cadet class.
• Li Zhi continued training on the eight-degree-of-freedom simulator, mastering takeoffs and landings and learning basic maneuvers.
• As graduating seniors, Li Zhi and the other fighter cadets were divided into study groups led by experienced pilots, including Golden Helmet recipient Liu Jin.
• Liu Jin introduced himself as the group's instructor and ordered Li Zhi to step forward, then chose him to be the first cadet to fly with him.

On Li Zhi’s first flight, Liu Jin let him take off and then demonstrated increasingly dangerous maneuvers. The trainer entered a spin, leaving Li Zhi and Liu Jin in a perilous situation.

• Li Zhi started the trainer and received clearance from the tower to taxi and take off while Liu Jin watched from the back seat.
• Li Zhi performed a smooth takeoff, then attempted a few rolls when Liu Jin asked him to demonstrate maneuvers.
• Liu Jin took control, performed seventeen and a half continuous rolls, and praised Li Zhi after he correctly identified that the plane was upside down.
• Liu Jin shut off the engine to demonstrate a stall, while the tower monitored the plane and Li Zhi remained calm.
• The trainer’s stall went uncorrected, its heading deviated, and it developed into a spin.

Liu Jin recovered the fighter from a spin and taught Li Zhi how to handle the maneuver before letting him take over and attempt a landing. After a sudden wind shift forced Liu Jin to intervene, Li Zhi landed safely, but the academy canceled the rest of the day's flights as a thundercloud formed.

• Liu Jin slowed the fighter's spin, restarted the engine, and explained spin recovery to Li Zhi.
• Li Zhi took control, received landing clearance, and descended toward the runway despite strong winds.
• A sudden shift from a westerly to a northerly wind pushed the fighter sideways, so Liu Jin took control as Li Zhi pulled up.
• Liu Jin returned control to Li Zhi, who made another landing approach and successfully landed in weaker winds.
• The academy canceled all flights for the day after a thundercloud began forming overhead.

Liu Jin pushed Li Zhi beyond the academy’s basic flight training, while Major General Lei Hu persuaded Director Wang to assign Li Zhi to his frontline unit. As graduation approached, Liu Jin returned Li Zhi to basic maneuvers, having taught him all he could.

• Liu Jin challenged Li Zhi to adapt and innovate with advanced maneuvers, while the other cadets struggled to keep pace.
• Lei Hu asked Director Wang to assign Li Zhi to one of his frontline combat units, and Director Wang agreed despite protesting about the harsh conditions.
• Lei Hu tried to secure extra placement quotas, but Director Wang chased him out and refused to change the established number.
• Lei Hu watched the cadets train and left without speaking to Li Zhi, who did not know his future assignment had been decided.
• Liu Jin had Li Zhi practice basic maneuvers repeatedly as graduation neared, knowing he had taught him everything he could.

Li Zhi completed his annual flight cadet assessment and impressed the watching military commanders with his precise flying and a Cobra Maneuver. He left Lei Hu confident that he had secured an exceptional future pilot.

• Commanders from nearly every military region watched the academy's annual flight cadet assessment, while Lei Hu remained relaxed because he had already secured Li Zhi.
• Li Zhi completed his preflight checks, received clearance from the tower, and took off with a shorter run than the other cadets.
• Li Zhi performed the required basic maneuvers precisely and flawlessly.
• Li Zhi climbed to altitude and performed a Cobra Maneuver, briefly entering a post-stall state before accelerating again with afterburner.
• The commanders applauded Li Zhi's performance, and Lei Hu judged that Li Zhi could soon fly solo and become combat-ready after joining the military.

Li Zhi graduated from the academy with the rank of captain and was assigned to the Southwest 1st Aircrew Division. Division commander Lei Hu sent him to the frontline Bird's Nest, where he would join a depleted pilot unit.

• Director Wang awarded Li Zhi the rank of captain after praising his conduct and graduation assessment.
• Li Zhi learned that he, Lin Dong, Liu Zhixin, and Wang Chen would be posted to different units, and the friends parted without time for a farewell meal.
• Li Zhi traveled to the Southwest 1st Aircrew Division headquarters to complete his transfer and meet Division commander Lei Hu.
• Lei Hu warned Li Zhi that the division's units were frontline combat units, and Li Zhi said he could endure hardship.
• Lei Hu assigned Li Zhi to the Bird's Nest, where a pilot had been wounded and the small unit was struggling to maintain combat readiness amid border tensions with Peacock Country.

Li Zhi arrived at the remote Bird's Nest base, where Xu Feng welcomed him and prepared to train him as a pilot. On his third day, Li Zhi got the chance to fly an Eighth Master and chose the code name Three-Yellow Chicken.

• Li Zhi flew by helicopter to the hidden Bird's Nest base, where Xu Feng greeted him and explained that the squadron was short-handed.
• Xu Feng told Li Zhi that the base might receive Jiaolong 10s by the end of the year, and Liao Yifei and Zeng Yuan welcomed Li Zhi over dinner.
• On Li Zhi's third day at the base, Xu Feng offered to let him fly a two-seat Eighth Master and said the base's pilots all used chicken-related code names.
• Li Zhi chose Three-Yellow Chicken as his code name, while Xu Feng kept his own code name secret.

Li Zhi flew his first routine border patrol in the Eighth Master with Xu Feng, encountering Peacock fighters without either side provoking the other. Xu Feng changed their return route to make the Peacock pilots scramble again, then brought Li Zhi back to base for rest before another patrol.

• Li Zhi took off in the Eighth Master with Xu Feng and received praise for his flying.
• Li Zhi and Xu Feng patrolled near the border, where Peacock fighters arrived but both sides maintained restraint.
• Xu Feng urged Li Zhi not to tolerate provocations and changed their route back to annoy the Peacock pilots.
• The Peacock fighters scrambled again as Li Zhi returned along the same route, and Xu Feng turned back when the fighter's fuel neared its warning limit.
• Xu Feng told Li Zhi to rest after landing before their afternoon patrol, unaware that Li Zhi had already completed advanced aerial combat training at the academy.

Li Zhi impressed Xu Feng with his advanced maneuvers, earned approval to fly solo, and prepared for a weapons-equipped target-practice mission despite not yet having his own aircraft. The chapter ended as Li Zhi arrived at the hangar ready to fly Xu Feng’s fighter.

• Li Zhi performed a Cobra Maneuver and an uneven-flap spin, convincing Xu Feng that he was skilled enough to fly solo.
• Xu Feng ended the demonstration and told Li Zhi they would begin proper training the next day, since they had no drones for attack practice.
• After flying several circuits and receiving a fuel warning, Li Zhi and Xu Feng returned to Chicken Coop Base and landed.
• Xu Feng submitted Li Zhi’s solo-flight application, and Lei Hu approved it, making Li Zhi the Southern Military Region’s earliest pilot cleared for solo flight.
• Because Li Zhi’s aircraft had not arrived, Xu Feng lent him his fighter, and the ground crew armed it for a target-practice mission.

Li Zhi destroyed the first target drone during live-fire training, then spotted a second craft flying low enough to evade radar and missile lock. As he prepared to attack with his autocannon, the drone began evasive maneuvers, and Li Zhi assumed the base had arranged a more challenging exercise.

• Li Zhi received orders to investigate an aerial contact, identified the target drone, and destroyed it with a missile.
• After losing the first target, Li Zhi spotted another drone flying low and descended to pursue it.
• Li Zhi disappeared from the base’s radar and radio contact, prompting Xu Feng to ask the control tower what had happened.
• Li Zhi ruled out a missile or bomb because the drone flew low over a fire-prone forest, and instead began aiming his autocannon by sight.
• The second drone started evasive maneuvers, leading Li Zhi to realize someone was controlling it and to assume the base had planned the challenge.